"In the first 20 minutes, we were on the back foot, we gave the ball away sloppily and looked pretty nervous, but then we gradually got into the game and we scored a good goal," he said.

"I'm very pleased for Chamakh, who has really worked hard since I came in the door. He and Cameron Jerome looked a handful.

"For all of West Ham's possession, I think we most probably created the more clear-cut chances."

Pulis added that the win would improve morale within the team.

"We need to win our home games, so to get off to that sort of start is brilliant, but everybody has put a shift in," he said.

"We lacked a bit of quality at times, but we know that, so they have to work even harder when we don't have the ball."

Pulis hinted he might have funds to spend on new players when the transfer window opens in January.

"If we can stay in touch with the rest of the group and we can can get a couple in - and we have to do that within the restrictions of the football club, I understand that - then that will give us another lift which we will need for the second half of the season," he said

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce was unhappy with his side's marking for Palace's goal.

"That's the most disappointing thing for me because that's lost us the game effectively," he said.

"On such a crucial game, we should not have let that slip. A point at the end of the day wouldn't have been a bad result. It's all our fault."

Palace's upcoming fixtures

7 December: Cardiff (home)

14 December: Chelsea (away)

21 December: Newcastle (h)

26 December: Aston Villa (a)

28 December: Manchester City (a)

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